Randy Howell is our new Classic champion. I know it was a photo finish, that he came from behind, had huge sacks of fish and that he’s a really nice guy with a really nice family. But that’s not the story I want to tell.

Twenty years ago, B.A.S.S. Nation champion Bryan Kerchal won the Bassmaster Classic on North Carolina’s High Rock Lake. This week, the Nation’s Paul Mueller, another son of the Nutmeg State, threatened to match Kerchal’s feat but ultimately fell short by a pound.